Vegan MOFO is over, and I feel like I can relax a little. This weekend was filled with fun as my husband and I got our Christmas tree. Then the next day I had Alexa and Justine over to decorate it and eat lots of vegan sushi. I thought today would be pretty laid back, which is has… but I am trying to tie up any loose ends since I am at week 39. In many ways this took forever and snuck up on me all at the same time.
Since Vegan MOFO took up so many of the posts last month, I have a little bit of a back log of articles to share (and read.) So sorry if these articles are pretty old. And I am trying to catch up on blog posts, which I may or may not get done before I go into labor. Who knows. Anyways, enjoy these reads.
7 Stunning Places Travelers Can’t Visit Because Of Politics
This was just a little light reading for fun. This is a short list of interesting places that look like they would be amazing to visit. I do think it is funny that I can’t visit it because of politics, when realistically my bank account wouldn’t allow it anyways. XD
Vegan Cheesemaking Guide – Vegan MoFo Day 6
Nichole from Vegan Nom Noms put together a vegan cheesemaking guide on her blog. I have to say, these new choices for fermented vegan cheeses have been amazing. For Thanksgiving Jon and I splurged and got a bit of Miyoko’s smoked cheese for an appetizer. We served it yesterday, and Alexa seemed to really like it as well (Justine can’t have cashews so she wasn’t able to taste it T__T) I would like to try making some, but right now isn’t too great.
Of course PMS is “real.” The real question is why we don’t have a cure.
Another great article talking about how women’s health is ignored by the medical industry. Clearly PMS is real, and it is funny because I had less common symptoms and thought I might of been crazy. As gross as it is, every time I get my period I have major digestive issues and thought it was just in my head. Then sure enough one day my OBGYN asked if I get diarrhea as a symptom during my period it was a little bit of a sigh of relief. It wasn’t in my head and it wasn’t weird. Some symptoms might not be talked about in other cultures because they are simply taboo and not talked about.
I’ve heard some article posing that mood swings are not an actual symptom of PMS, and I can see that. I personally don’t get moodier but it makes sense that it would be a side effect from physical symptoms of PMS. If you cut your arm and it hurt, surely you would be irritable. So if you have cramping, why wouldn’t you be more emotional in the same way? I’ve talked about how some studies are showing that “pregnancy brain” might not be real, and honestly I think it is a way to play down any stress that a woman might have from a major life change. Same goes with saying mood swings are just part of PMS, whether real or not, it is used as way to ignore a person.
Vegan Diets, As Long As They Are Well-Balanced, Are Good for Pregnant Women and Children
I was happy to see this article pop up on my news feed, especially because of the timing. I think many people forget how much of a omnivores diet is actually fortified with vitamins and nutrients. Think about mainstream cereals- lots of fortified vitamins. Milk has fortified vitamin D, and so on.
Has Hypnosis Finally Been Vindicated by Neuroscience?
This SciShow episode and Science of Us articles both came out relatively close to each other. It is pretty interesting and actually is slightly making me regret dismissing hypnobirthing as bullshit. I guess it could very well work, which seems crazy to me. I would love to find more scientific research on hypnosis.
SciShow: 9 Scientific Cooking Techniques
SciShow has released a series of food/cooking related videos and this one was a lot of fun. There are various techniques (mostly unconventional) to make food fun. Most are vegan, though there is a fairly weird and gross “meat glue.” But otherwise I would love to try out many of the vegan techniques at some point. Some I’ve seen already on other blogs.
Nicole @ Vegan Nom Noms
Thanks for sharing my cheesemaking guide! 🙂
Sarah
Ooh checking the cheese guide now! Even though I’m at work… but damn I miss cheese, so I might try one this weekend.
Also, RE PMS, I get pre-menstrual dysphoria, which is a residual effect from my depression. Like, the hormones before/PMS means I become incredibly depressed etc and that was diagnosed haha
You gonna have a vegan baby?
Jennifer
I’m sorry to hear about your PMD. I don’t think enough people know about it. Heck, any type of female hormonal depression most people don’t know about. My Mom never heard of prenatal depression (aka depression during pregnancy) and she kind-of works in the field!
Yup, we are having a vegan baby. So far the doctors seem to be impressed by his weight and health, all from plants… er.. plants through me.